I am really working on decreasing my stash and I have been knitting kids hats for a charity project using my odd balls.I have 2 balls of Patons shetland chunky that would make a great hat but the content is 75% acrylic and 25% wool and the washing instructions say not to put in the dryer-I am uncertain if I should this yarn-I'd hate for someone to get a nice warm hat and have it shrink.Any ideas?

You can knit a swatch, wash, dry and check gauge... that way you'll know for sure... or knit a scarf... if it shinks a bit, no biggie.

That's what I'd do. Make a swatch, check gauge before and after, knit to the "after" gauge. I always measure the "before" so I have an idea how MUCH it's gonna shrink. But make sure it's a good sized swatch -- at least 4x4", but even bigger would be better. Because if it shrinks at the rate of about an inch per foot, and you only have 2" to begin with, you might not even be able to see the difference. With a hat that's probably not a huge deal I guess, but for something larger the cumulative shrinkage could turn out to be problematic.

You might still want to pre-shrink it, just so it fits to begin with.

The good news is that if a hat's a tiny bit small it's not usually a problem. Just makes it stay on better.

It's similar to Woolease by Lion brand. That one is 70% acrylic, 20% wool, and 10% another material. You are supposed to be able to wash it. I've read that some people are using Woolease as cheaper substitute for superwash wool. To be sure, knit a small swatch, wash it, and see what happens. I suspect it will act like Woolease and not be a problem.